After five decades of Coast Guard Auxiliary service, friends and family honored a Palm Beach Gardens man Tuesday before burying him at sea. People who knew William P. Kaufmann said he 51 grateful for the memorial service at Station Lake Worth Inlet, a place he thought of as home. Two servicemen presented Kaufmann’s son with a flag before scattering his ashes three miles off shore. Kaufmann, 96, was often spotted wearing his Auxiliary uniform, and he seldom left the house 52 his Coast Guard hat. He was proud to answer anyone who asked about it that he was still an active member, said Pearl Ginsburg, 85, his companion of seven years.

 In the past few years, Taiwan has seen a sharp spike in the number of animals smuggled to China. Most of them are 53 Chinese box turtles and yellow pond turtles. From 2006 to 2013, more than 11,000 turtles were confiscated from smugglers. In Taiwan, each turtle sells for $30 but in China, they can fetch up to $200. Last year saw an especially large number of confiscations: 7,010 turtles were confiscated by Taiwan’s coast guard -- more than any other year.54 in China, they would be worth $1.4m. 55 is Chinese people’s increasing wealth and appetite for exotic cuisine, unusual pets and traditional Chinese medicine. Turtles are the easiest target because they stand a better chance of surviving the smuggling process -- they can go without food and water for longer periods of time 56 other animals. The turtles are also considered by Chinese as good luck charms that can bring fortune to their owners.

Although oceans cover two-thirds of the surface of the Earth, they are surprisingly vulnerable to human influences, 57 overfishing, pollution from run-off, and dumping of waste. This kind of pollution can have serious economic and health impacts by killing marine life and damaging habitats and ecosystems. Toxins from pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals used on farms 58 nearby rivers that flow into the ocean, and this can cause extensive loss of marine life in bays and estuaries, 59 the creation of dead zones. The dumping of industrial, nuclear and other waste into oceans was legal until the early 1970’s when 60 . However, illegal dumping still occurs in many places.